The Hatter and The Tavern Girl
by girlofgallifrey442
Summary: Jefferson needs some magical protection whilst running errands for Rumplestiltskin and Alice needs a better job than a maiden in a tavern. OCish Alice not Alice from OUATIW. {Jefferson/OC}
1. Chapter 1

AN: Ok so I wasn't really sure what I was writing at first, because I had this random idea of a girl always stealing Jefferson's coat and him getting really annoyed at her and then it somehow spiralled into this. I don't know if I'll continue this but please review and let me know what you think! Reviews really keep my writing motivation up!

Alice couldn't live like she used to. Her father was killed with many others in a shipwreck, leaving her on her own to find work and shelter to keep her alive. Eventually she found a tavern to work in, though she wished she could work anywhere else. Men would arrive drunk to get even drunker, which often resulted in fights that she could not stop. The clothing the owner of the tavern made her wear was probably the worst part of her job, he often claimed it was to attract more people to the tavern, which it sadly did. The thin white shirt often left her shivering, the red corset caused her to gasp for breath and the small black leather shorts she wore left little to the imagination. She looked like a pirate wench and she hated it.

Alice had heard about the new queen, and how she was under Rumplestiltskin's training. All over the land Rumplestiltskin was feared for his deadly deals and many have already guessed the queen will turn bitter like he is. Alice hid her magic for her own good, one day someone would use her for her magic and leave her for dead, that's what happens to so many others who possess magic in the Enchanted Forest. Her mother had been the person to pass on her magic to Alice but had left her and her father in fear of putting them in danger, though Alice later realised she wasn't trying to protect her or her father, she just didn't want to be responsible for a child.

Tonight the tavern was completely full as it was the mine worker's night off. Alice always dreaded when they were in the tavern, all the burley and probably married men looking down her shirt and flirting with her, like she was just a toy for them to play with. Alice never payed the men much attention considering they were almost always twice her age and willing to hit on a 21 year old. Though one of the men had caught her eye this evening. He sat at the back of the tavern, in his extravagant black coat and his hat placed on the small table in front of him. The owner had spoken to him earlier that evening and got him a tea, which was strange since the owner was rarely _in_ the tavern. He was definitely not a mine worker, that much was clear by his slim frame and expensive clothing, he also seemed much younger than the rest of the men in the tavern. His eyes were lined with kohl and his hair stuck up in different directions which gave him a mysterious look that Alice spent too much time glancing at.

Alice was carrying a tray of ales when one of the men, a broad man with a face littered with scars, hit her ass when she was walking past. She got such a fright she fell and spilt the ale all over herself, causing her shirt to cling to her chest and an uproar of wolf whistles and cat calls from the men. Alice quickly scurried back to the bar in some attempt to hide herself. Alice gave a quick glance around the tavern from behind the bar to make sure no one was looking before she released a small burst of yellow magic from her hand, her shirt returning to the way it was with no traces of ale. She turned around, heading to go pick up the shattered pieces of glass from the ale glasses, when she locked onto a pair of blue eyes staring at her. He had a devilish grin plastered on his face as he took a sip of his tea, eyes never leaving hers. He had seen her use her magic. Alice tared her eyes from his and returned to her job, trying to not look his way again.

She failed.

 _This was definitely not good._

The sun would surely be rising soon and Alice had managed to usher out the men, all except one. She did what she always did when closing up the tavern, wiping down the tables with a rag and sweeping the floor. Alice had just finished checking everything was back in place when she turned around to see a certain pair of kohl lined blue eyes staring back at her from the other side of the bar.

"So how can a tavern wench do magic?" He grinned his hand propped.

"Wow quite the charmer" Alice replied but still unable to hide her blush caused by his wide grin. "And I am not a wench"

"Of course you're not, if you were you'd be all over those men like a rash" He said opening his satchel to pull out a piece of paper. "Do you know what this is?"

Alice read the paper carefully, it was a contract, one of Rumplestiltskins' contract. Saying this man, Jefferson as it was signed at the bottom, would work for Rumple for a year and a half, as a portal jumper. Then a realisation dawned on her.

" _Hatter_ " Alice whispered.

"I prefer Jefferson, but yes that is my other name" He said is grin faltering a fraction "And what would yours be?"

Alice knew she shouldn't tell him anything, she had heard about the hatter and the jobs he does for Rumplstiltskin, but deep inside she felt like she could trust him. "Alice Liddell"

"Well, Alice, as you read on my contract I am going to be working for Rumple for a year and a half. I've been working for him for three months and have realised I get hurt very often. I was told if I could find someone who could protect me with magic, he would also pay them as much as I am payed, which trust me is a lot more than you make in this tavern. And you'd get to wear more clothes." Jefferson stopped to rake his eyes over Alice's body. "But if you want to keep the uniform you've got, that's fine by me"

Alice _knew_ it would be a dangerous job, she _knew_ she wouldn't have a permanent home and she _knew_ she would get a bad reputation from working for Rumplstiltskin butwhat kind of rep did she have serving men ale in skimpy clothing?

"How much pay would I get for a year and three months of work?" Alice asked leaning forward so that her face was only centimetres from his.

"Enough to not work for a year afterwards" Jefferson said, his breath fanning across Alice's face causing her to blush. "And a year and three months my close company, which I think is payment enough"

Alice scoffed and rolled her eyes, pushing herself of the bar. Hundreds of thoughts were running through her head: _Men wouldn't stare at her like meat every day, no more wearing skimpy outfits, finally a solid pay, keeping company with a rather attracti- No, she wasn't even going to go there._

"So, _Alice Liddell_ , do we have a deal? you protect me and get payed in gold?" Jefferson said sticking out his hand for her to shake, the way he said her name causing her to shiver

Alice grabbed his collar and pulled his face close to hers, so close to hers their noses almost touching. "Yes, _Jefferson_ , we have a deal"

Alice skipped off to go get changed, grinning from ear to ear. Leaving Jefferson gaping at her sudden actions.

Jefferson was going to enjoy this, a lot.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: So I decided to continue this cause why not? Anyway please review to let me know what you think! (Sorry this chapter is shorter than the last one )

Warnings: Cocky Jefferson, Mentions of smut

Alice knew her boss would be super mad at her just leaving but it's not often that a guy pays you to run away with him, so Alice was going to take a risk for once. She grabbed her blue dress and slipped it on with a white apron over the top of it. The dress was a change since the hem came to rest just above her knees and was full of netting underneath so that it puffed out ever so slightly, drawing attention to her waist. Alice had barely any belongings so she was able to fit most of her stuff into her brown cloth satchel. She thanked the old woman who owned the inn for letting her stay in the attic for almost five years and told her she had gotten a better job and that she would pay her back somehow in the future. Alice nearly ran back to the tavern, to find Jefferson leaning against the front of the building wearing his large top hat, the early morning light casting shadows over his face.

"I'll need to tell my boss that I'm leaving" Alice said turning to take out a pen and paper from her bag but was stopped when a piece of paper was waved near her face.

"Already taken care of that" Jefferson smirked as she snatched the note from his hand.

 _Dear Euan,_

 _Your tavern girl, Alice, has decided to join me on my travels after we spent last night together (Great idea about her uniform, but it is rather hard to get off) .Anyway, she will be joining me for about a year and three months. I also highly doubt she'll be coming back, due to the way you let men treat her and what you force her to wear. Considering last time we had a conversation longer than ten minutes you almost put an arrow through my foot I thought it best I leave you a note rather than tell you in person. Since we both thought it would be rude to wake all the quests in the inn, we stayed at the tavern last night, so you might want to clean the bar, the table in the far left corner, the chair I was sitting in when you spoke to me and most of the walls_

 _Yours Sincerely, Jefferson, The Hatter._

 _PS Portal jumping is a real career just because I have an awesome job doesn't mean you need to ridicule me._

"Are you insane!? I can't-can't leave this for my b-boss!" Alice was so flustered after what she had just read she tried to sound mad but just sounded embarrassed.

"You mean your ex-boss" Jefferson laughed, stepping closer to her. "I'm your boss now"

The close proximity and risqué letter was beginning to make Alice feel like accepting this job might not have been the wisest idea. "I thought Rumple was my boss?"

"He is, but I'm the one who tells him whether you are doing your job well or not. So you are gonna have to be a good girl and do what you're being paid to do" Jefferson said poking Alice's small button nose.

"I'm not a child" Alice said swatting his hand away from her face.

"Trust me I know" Jefferson grinned, his eyes traveling over Alice's body. "Cute dress by the way"

"Thank you" Alice huffed out as she pulled out her pen and paper.

 _Dear Mr Merrywood,_

 _I have found work elsewhere that I feel is more suitable for my set of skills and I am leaving to start work today. Thank you for the work you have provided me with, I have kept my uniform as I feel I may need it in the future. Hopefully you can find another tavern girl and the mine workers won't be too distraught about my departure._

 _Yours Sincerely, Alice Liddell._

Alice folded the paper and slid it under the taverns door. When Alice turned around, Jefferson was standing fixing the large rings he wore on his fingers. "So what now?" Alice asked.

"Oh, this is the best part, Miss Liddell" Jefferson said enthusiastically as he wiggled his fingers out in front of him.

Jefferson mumbled for her to stand back as he removed his hat and spun it to the ground. Much to Alice's surprise, a whirl of purple smoke spun around the hat cause a strong wind to form. She felt Jefferson's large, calloused hand grab hold of her small fragile one as he tugged her forward.

Alice certainly didn't to jump into a hat and land in another land, but she would quickly get used to the form of travel,

"And jump!" He yelled as they both leapt into the tornado of purple.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: ok so thank you for all the lovey reviews and I'm sorry I haven't updated in ages (trust me I know how annoying it is when authors don't update). The door mouse in this chapter is loosely based around the door mouse from the Tim Burton movie and is sort of an OC. Anyway, on with this chapter! Please review so I know what you think.

When Alice's feet finally hit solid ground, she felt like she could be sick at any moment. Portal jumping may sound fun, but it certainly did not feel fun. Her head was spinning so fast she couldn't stand still and wobbled about trying to focus on keeping the contents of her stomach inside her. Alice could still see the purple smoke whirling around her, though she knew it was no longer there. When Alice finally composed herself her ears were filled with the extremely annoying thundering laughter of Jefferson.

"Well I'm glad you're finding this so funny" Alice hissed as she sorted her hair and straightened her dress.

"Well, I'm sure you'll get used to it soon enough" Jefferson chuckled "Now, we have a job to do"

The large room they stood in was circular and dimly lit. There were hundreds of doors of all different shapes and colours around the edge of the room, causing Alice's curiosity to peak. Jefferson swaggered over to one of the few doors that was not actually a door, a large gold rimmed mirror that seemed to glitter in the light. Alice trotted up behind him to peer into the mirror, but staggered back when the mirror began to ripple under Jefferson's touch.

"This will not be as unpleasant as the hat" Jefferson said gently pulling Alice by the hand and into the mirror behind him.

He was correct, it just felt like walking through a door, except more _strange_. Alice couldn't quite explain it, it was almost like a tingling in her skin that most people wouldn't feel, but Alice did. When they stepped into the other world, Alice suddenly felt extremely small. There were great towering mush rooms and blades of grass that stuck out between the cobbles of the wide path in front of her and Jefferson. When Alice looked up to the sky above her, she was distracted by a large ring of smoke brushing over her face. After Alice began coughing and spluttering Jefferson shot a glare in the directions of a large blue caterpillar, who was still puffing large circles of smoke from where he sat on an oversized mush room.

"Who are you?" The caterpillar said drawing out each word.

Jefferson turned on his heel intending to get away from any inhabitants of Wonderland as fast as he could, grabbing Alice's wrist as he did so.

"You big old bug! That's the hatter!" a small voice squeaked from behind them.

Jefferson froze, his grip tightening on Alice's wrist and then letting go to swivel around and swagger back towards a large dormouse who was leaning against the stalk of the mush room. Alice could tell by the expression on Jefferson's face that he wasn't particularly happy to see the smug looking creature.

"If the queen knows you're here shell have your head!" The door mouse chattered whilst motioning his claw across his neck "Maybe she will find out you're here"

"I thought you and I were business partners?" Jefferson said twirling his hands around for emphasis.

"We are, but if I get a better pay for handing you over to the queen than getting you this" The door mouse said struggling to hold up a crystal ball "I will alert the guards now if you don't give me the money"

As Jefferson began to argue with the mouse, Alice was busy focusing on an interesting trail in front of her. The path was littered with smashed pieces of teacups and teapots of all different shapes and sizes. Alice knelt down to inspect one of the cups that, to her surprise, still hand tea dripping from the broken pieces. But this tea was strange, when it was rolling off the pieces of colourful china, it remained murky brown but when the liquid hit the cobbled path, it became an electrifying purple. Alice was a smart girl, she knew there was clearly some kind of magic (or drug) in the tea but something about it was almost hypnotic, like she had seen it before.

"I wouldn't go near that stuff, messes with your head"

Jefferson's voice shook Alice from her trance, causing the piece of teacup to slip from between her fingers. When the china smashed onto the stone beneath her, the loud crash caused her to leap back and straight into Jefferson's chest. With her hands grabbing onto his shoulders, Jefferson looked like a rabbit between a pair of headlights. His eyes were wide only for a moment, but Alice saw it, some kind of realisation before his wide smirk reappeared.

"Just can't keep your hands off me? I understand if I was you I'd be all over me"

Alice scoffed and pushed herself off him, trying not blush. She noticed Jefferson was now holding the crystal ball the door mouse had moments ago meaning he must have given the rodent his money.

"Yeah you wish" Alice said sauntering down the path, avoiding the pieces of china.

Jefferson shot one last glare towards the dormouse who was humming and counting out the coins in his small paws, grinning from ear to ear.

 _I never liked that mouse._

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In another world seeing a door mouse and a bloodhound having a conversation would be a ridiculous sight, but not in Wonderland.

"Are you sure it was her?" The bloodhound question, his voice a low growl.

"YES!" The door mouse yelled "Why else would she be traveling with the hatter? Of course it is Alice! She was even looking into the tea like she knew what it was!"

"This is very bad" He grumbled "If the queen were to find out she would have her head, just to spite Jefferson"

"We could get a good pile of coins to give the queen information" The door mouse squeaked rubbing his paws together.

"You would kill Alice and break Jefferson's heart just to get a pile of coins?" Barked the bloodhound, eyes growing dark at the threat.

" _The Hatter_ left us he deserves it!"

"He was looking for Alice!"

"And it has taken this long to find her! He could have come back!"

Their argument was silenced when they heard a red guard yelling in the distance. The bloodhound's ears twitch and his voiced dropped to a whisper:

"We shall finish this later"

The dog bounded off away from the sounds of the red guards, making his way to safety.

The mouse stood and watched the dog run off, pulling out his small sword and stabbing it into the ground in front of him. He sat down and stared at his reflection in the sharp piece of metal, combing his claws through his whiskers.

 _He deserves everything he gets, and Alice will go down with him._


End file.
